Salmon and Columbia River Treaty flood control

If you haven’t listened to Wide Open, an audio series about the 1973 US Endangered Species Act by Montana journalist Nick Mott, it’s worth a listen. His episode about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the small fish that almost stopped a dam being completed made me think of the Columbia River salmon populations. Before dams, they travelled unimpeded a few thousand kilometers, to the headwaters in Canada.

Lately, I’ve noticed an uptick of media focus on various small dams being removed, like this one about the Kwoneesum Dam east of Portland. Even Idaho Power recently publicized how the hydro-power company times its water releases on the Snake River to support salmon survival. Stream cameras and video posts throughout the Pacific Northwest are our eyes on the resurgence of a miracle dating back thousands of years. Slowly but surely, streams are being restored. Salmon are on the return.

Recently, the US and Canada’s 60-year flood control agreement under the 1964 Columbia River Treaty expired. All the other provisions related to storing water for hydro-power remain for now. But until the proposed Agreement in Principle can be ratified to update the treaty, the US needs a temporary plan to manage powerful annual snowmelt. The basin’s geography is top heavy with melting water that descends from the Rocky Mountains, crosses the international boundary and eventually flows to the ocean. That has brought sudden attention in the US to the value of Canadian flood control – both in terms of money, and protection it has provided to US assets.

These are times of change. The Columbia’s tightly managed flows are slowly being liberated. It’s important to remember that as the river inches (not leaps!) toward a more natural cycle, the great beneficiaries of increased flow in spring will be salmon. Their time-honored bio-rhythms include a ride to the ocean on surging natal streams. The story of human industry and salmon has started a new chapter.

Hang on for the ride!